October 1, 2024

The Kliwinski Family is Reaping the Rewards on National Public Lands Day and Everyday!

Celebrated on the fourth Saturday of September, this day is the largest single-day volunteer effort in the country. In 2024, National Public Lands Day was on September 28. Every evening, weather and schedule permitting, I take my family (2 dogs, wife and infant son) on a stroll along the D&R Canal Park between Lambertville and Stockton NJ.

It is a 50-mile trail that runs along the Delaware. Fortunately, we have a bridge across Rt 29 to this trail.

Usually along our walks, we enjoy lots of scenery along the canal and River, but I also notice stupid things like bags of dog waste left along the trail, bottles and food wrappers left in the grass, plastic floating down the canal, and garbage is strewn along the River in spots that have washed ashore from somewhere else. I usually come back with a pocket or stroller full of debris because I can’t just leave it there. The D&R Canal crosses multiple counties and was put on the historic register by my mentor and friend David Gibson, founder of DF Gibson Architects, a small boutique historic preservation and educational design firm I had the fortune to work for during my internship years and afterward partnering on many projects. Several towns along the D&R Canal like Lambertville, Stockton and Frenchtown were reborn with this happening. As a hub of industry during its time, there are many manmade structures along this canal I find intriguing still as well as some beautiful homes visible across the river, one modern glass home designed by our own Bob Hillier, FAIA.

I have seen the Canal in all seasons and Fall is one of my favorites. This rainy weekend we encountered beavers, deer, geese, foxes, a bald eagle and box turtle during our strolls. It has become a wildlife corridor, connecting multiple greenspaces for habitat in addition to providing repose and recreation for people. As an architect, Nature has always been an inspiration and along this park, there are both natural and manmade wonders to spark the imagination and delight the senses. No matter the weather or time of year, right around 6 pm Coco and Pepper start nudging me to step away from my computer and take them for their evening stroll if I am home…and I try to make it a point
to be home for that because I enjoy this public land as much as they do. Protecting it and our environment is part of what I try to do every day as a sustainable architect and getting out to experience it is the reward!

Jason Kliwinski, AIA, LEED Fellow, WELLap, BECxP

AIA New Jersey Past President
Principal, Designs for Life LLC
www.designs4life.net

By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in AIA Central New Jersey, Environment, Members & the Community | Tagged: #JasonKliwinskiAIA, #NationalPublicLandsDay, #NPLD | Comments (0)